The Witcher 4 release date, platforms, Ciri story and everything confirmed

The Witcher 4 release date hasn’t been confirmed yet by CD Projekt Red, but we do have a rough idea of when we’ll be able to play the game.

CD Projekt Red is targeting 2028 as the rough release window for The Witcher 4, roughly one year after the release of The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past which acts as one final send-off for Geralt.

Much like its predecessors, the Ciri-led adventure will be a singleplayer open-world RPG, and acts as the beginning of a new saga which will comprise potentially three new games released over the next decade.

We don’t yet have any finalised gameplay demonstrations yet, besides the tech demo which was shown at State of Unreal 2025. However, this wasn’t representative of how the final game will play.

This article was last updated on 21 October 2026.

What is The Witcher 4 release date?

The Witcher 4 is confirmed to be released in 2028, at least that’s what CD Projekt Red is targeting. However, plans may change over time and it’s best to keep this mind as we creep closer to launch.

The official 2028 release window

The Witcher 4’s planned 2028 release was confirmed in August 2026 by CD Projekt Red in a video message announcing plans for Gamescom 2026.

“Now I know you're eager to learn when it's coming. That's the question we're hearing from you all the time. So while we're not showing The Witcher 4 at the event, and we're not ready to share an exact date, I can tell you this: The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release window,” said joint chief executive officer Michał Nowakowski.

Could The Witcher 4 be delayed?

The 2028 release window is a development target, but no exact date has been announced yet. As always, take such information with a grain of salt as development continues.

Why older reports said 2027 or later

Earlier reports indicated that The Witcher 4 could have been released in 2027. However, these reports only ruled out release by the end of 2026.

Internal targets are changed often in game development, so an internal target of 2027 could have changed at some point as CD Projekt Red gained a more accurate estimation of when the game would reach a state to be released in.

Which platforms will The Witcher 4 release on?

The Witcher 4 is confirmed to be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

PC PlayStation and Xbox

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the game is in development across PC, PlayStation and Xbox. Internal builds are running on the latest generation of these platforms.

Will The Witcher 4 come to Nintendo?

A Nintendo Switch 2 release for The Witcher 4 has not been confirmed yet by CD Projekt Red.

Although CDPR’s previous two releases, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, have been released on Nintendo Switch 2 in the past 18 months, this does not mean that the sequel will release there as well.

Will it be cross-generation?

Next-generation consoles do not have a confirmed release window yet, but 2028 has long been the rumoured year for when we’ll see the PlayStation 6 and next-gen Xbox come to fruition.

Regardless of this, cross-generation versions of The Witcher 4 have not been confirmed by CD Projekt Red.

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Who is the protagonist of The Witcher 4?

Ciri is the playable protagonist of The Witcher 4, and the story will follow her journey after the events of The Witcher 3 as she becomes a professional monster hunter.

Ciri begins a new Witcher saga

In The Witcher 4, Ciri is on a path to becoming a professional monster hunter just like Geralt. This game won’t be a fourth Geralt chapter, but rather the start of a new saga starring Ciri as the central character.

How Ciri can become a witcher

The first trailer for The Witcher 4 shows Ciri has become a fully-fledged witcher. Following the events of The Witcher 3, Ciri has undergone the Trial of the Grasses which has given her the same mutations that witchers like Geralt or Vesemir possess.

However, there are some details from the books and games which show that the witcher trials can only be performed on young boys. This change from the books has not been addressed yet by CD Projekt Red, but we imagine this will be addressed in the game once it’s out.

Will Geralt appear?

Geralt is confirmed to be making an appearance in The Witcher 4, with performer Doug Cockle confirming his involvement. However, we don’t know the extent of his involvement just yet, whether it’s more than a small cameo or a more substantial role. It’s also unknown if he’ll be playable.

What is The Witcher 4 story about?

Story details on The Witcher 4 are still light, but CD Projekt Red has revealed a few details through the official premise and trailer.

Here’s what CD Projekt Red has said about the game so far:

“The Witcher 4 is a single-player, open-world RPG from CD PROJEKT RED. At the start of a new saga, players take on the role of Ciri, a professional monster slayer, and embark on a journey through a brutal dark-fantasy world. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, it aims to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date.”

The cinematic trailer explained

The reveal trailer at The Game Awards 2024 revealed Ciri taking on a contract in Stromford, which is an “isolated village up north”. In this part of the continent, they do not rely on witchers to kill monsters so the village has instead chosen a woman to be a ritual sacrifice for a monster called the Bauk.

The trailer establishes the tone and story direction of The Witcher 4, showing Ciri’s skill when it comes to fighting monsters and harnessing her newfound witcher powers. It also shows that the game will have a darker tone, with much scarier scenes and creature designs compared to the previous entry.

Kovir and the new setting

The Witcher 4 is set in Kovir, which is a new setting for the games that previously appeared in the books. This location was revealed during State of Unreal 2025, along with the tech demo.

The start of a new trilogy

The Witcher 4 is intended to be the start of a new trilogy for the franchise, kicking off the new story as it centres on Ciri as the lead character.

The game was codenamed Project Polaris prior to release before its reveal at The Game Awards 2024. CD Projekt Red also has several other games in development using this codenaming system, namely Project Sirius and Project Hadar. However, these aren’t part of the new Witcher trilogy. The latter is a multiplayer spin-off set in the Witcher universe, while the former is a brand new IP.

What do we know about The Witcher 4 gameplay?

We haven’t seen any final gameplay of The Witcher 4 yet. A tech demo was shown at State of Unreal 2025, but this is not representative of the final gameplay.

We do know it’ll be an open-world RPG similar to previous entries, where Ciri will be able to take on monster hunter contracts and explore the world helping people out. She has a horse named Kelpie, who functions similar to Geralt’s horse Roach from The Witcher 3.

What the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo showed

The Unreal Engine 5 tech demo shown at State of Unreal 2025 showed off some of the tech that The Witcher 4 will be using. The game was being shown on PS5 hardware at 4K, with ray-tracing and 60 FPS also being included.

The gameplay sequence shown off revealed Ciri traversing a mountain in Kovir, before riding off with Kelpie and going to a nearby town. Ciri then walks through the marketplace of the town, where we can see NPCs going about their daily lives.

The tech demo shows off the graphics that The Witcher 4 will be targeting, along with animations, AI, lighting, post-processing, and various other aspects of technological fidelity that CD Projekt Red will achieve with Unreal Engine 5.

What has not been confirmed for the final game

Although the demo featured a lot of gameplay and in-engine footage, it did not confirm any details about combat, quests, or dialogue systems. We also do not know the final size of the map, nor how the HUD and UI will function.

Ciri's combat and powers

From the trailers, we can infer that Ciri will use two swords much like Geralt. A steel sword and a silver one, depending on the situation.

She’ll also have access to a wide breadth of witcher powers, as well as the powers she possesses in The Witcher 3 such as teleportation and shift between dimensions.

Footage in The Witcher 4 trailer also shows her utilising signs and consuming toxic witcher potions, which would require her to have undergone the witcher trials to achieve those abilities.

Will The Witcher 4 have a physical edition?

CD Projekt Red has outlined its intent to have a physical edition for The Witcher 4. However, whether or not this version will have a disc remains to be seen.

While PlayStation has already confirmed discs will be discontinued from January 2028 onwards, the same cannot be said for Xbox. A boxed edition without a disc present seems to be the most likely result here.

CD Projekt Red's boxed release plan

In August 2026, CD Projekt Red said that it intends to release a boxed copy of the game, even if there are no discs available to print.

“We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won’t have a disc],” said CDPR’s Michał Nowakowski.

Editions pre-orders and price

Pricing information for The Witcher 4 has not yet been released, nor have there been any confirmed editions or pre-order bonuses either.

If you’re looking out for more information on this, be sure to only check official sources such as from CD Projekt Red, platform stores, and verified retailers.

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The Witcher 4 FAQ

Here are a few further questions about The Witcher 4 that we can answer.

Is The Witcher 4 called Polaris?

During early development, The Witcher 4 was codenamed Project Polaris. However, this is not the final title for the game, and it is unlikely to have any relevance to the game’s plot or premise.

Is The Witcher 4 a sequel?

The Witcher 4 kicks off a new trilogy of games starring Ciri as the main character. It is a sequel to The Witcher 3 in the sense that it continues story threads which began with Ciri’s character development, but it is a standalone entry that you’ll be able to experience without playing the previous games.

Is The Witcher 4 multiplayer?

The Witcher 4 is described by CD Projekt Red as a singleplayer RPG. Multiplayer has not been confirmed.

Will choices carry over?

CD Projekt Red has not confirmed if choices from previous games will carry over.